We sure packed a lot of activities into a two-day week! We had a special bullying presentation on Monday that the students really enjoyed. On Tuesday we had a presenter from the Putnam Museum. She spoke to us about art in nature. At the end of her presentation, we got to make an origami frog that can jump! We also spent a fair amount of time completing our Thanksgiving Pocket Books. Hopefully the students shared their knowledge of the first Thanksgiving with their families.

The Week Ahead
English: We will continue our unit on verbs. We will also be working on organizing our writing in the correct order.
Math: We will learn to draw and measure line segments to the nearest 1/2 inch, locate and name points on a number line with a scale of 10, draw a bar graph with a scale of 10, act out, draw pictures, and write number sentences for "equal groups" story problems, and identify and draw lines of symmetry.
Reading: We will be reading a story called, Centerfield Ballhawk. We will also learn and discuss antonyms, sequencing story events, and main idea.
Science: We will be doing a small research assignment (in class) about a rainforest animal to finish off the unit.
Social Studies: We will learn to read a diagram, and then we will create our own diagrams.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! Please feel free to contact me at bcalcott@orionschools.us with any questions or concerns.

Even though it was a short week, it was very busy. We have been working really hard on finishing our Thanksgiving pocket books. The students will be bringing them home on Tuesday. They may want to share some of the lessons that they learned with their family members on Thanksgiving. This morning, we had our second Junior Achievement lesson. The students were able to create their own city. They decided where certain buildings and businesses should be built. The students loved the lesson, and seemed to pay attention the whole time!

Toys for Tots
Orion High School is going to be an official Toys for Tots donation site. This will begin on November 19th. If the donation is made during the Tip Off Classic Boys Basketball Tournament (November 19th-24th), that person will be entered into a nightly cake raffle drawing! Let's help make this Christmas special for kids in need!

No Spelling
There is no spelling list for next week since we only have two days of school. You will not find a list in Friday Folders.

The Week Ahead
English: We will continue our unit on verbs. We are also learning how to organize our writing by using "order words."
Math: We will continue practicing the addition algorithm with real-world application. Please continue to practice multiplication with your child.
Reading: Since there is no story this week, we will be working on some reader's theater scripts. We will also work on identifying similes. We will review prefixes and suffixes.
Social Studies: We will have a special lesson on bullying. We will also be spending time to finish learning about the first Thanksgiving. We will discuss the differences between the meal that the Pilgrims ate and the meal that we eat today.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at bcalcott@orionschools.us. Have a great weekend!

Hello everyone! This is always a fun time of year because we get to discuss the first Thanksgiving! We also get to do many activities related to this concept. We learned that the Mayflower was 90 feet long and 26 feet wide. We went into the hallway with a string that is 90 feet long to see just how long the Mayflower was. The students observed that it seemed really long, but for 130+ people it would not be very comfortable. They decided that it would not be a fun trip to be on. We are going to continue learning about the hardships that the Pilgrims faced when they traveled to North America.

Multiplication Update
I will be introducing the 5's this week. Usually students pick these up quickly. Please continue to practice the facts that we have already learned.

The Week Ahead
English: We will continue to learn about verbs.
Math: We will learn to make shapes for a given perimeter, construct a number line, add two two-digit numbers using the addition algorithm, use estimation to verify the reasonableness of calculated results.
Reading: My reading class will be reading The Talent Show. We will also learn to create mental images, review prefixes and suffixes, learn to summarize text, practice making and confirming predictions, and learn to identify and create similes.
Science: We will finish our Rainforest unit.
Social Studies: We will continue our unit about the first Thanksgiving.

What an awesome week! Wednesday was Halloween! The party that the PTA threw for the students was outstanding! Thank you to all of the parents that were able to help out! Another exciting event from the week was that we had our first Junior Achievement lesson! Emily Snell from Bank Orion is going to be teaching the students about how a community/city works. We will have four more lessons from her.

Cold Weather
Please make sure that your child is coming to school with weather appropriate clothes. Sometimes the students go outside for P.E. at 9:50 a.m. At this time, it is still pretty cold outside.

Multiplication Update
The students were tested over the 3's. Some students have not yet mastered these facts. Please make sure your child is studying every night. This week, I will introduce the 4's. Feel free to get a head start on working on the 4's with your child!

The Week Ahead
English: We will begin a unit on verbs. For writing, we have started a unit about organization. We are specifically working on beginning, middle, and end.
Math: We will learn to read a thermometer to the nearest degree Fahrenheit, identify freezing and boiling point of water and normal body temperature on the Fahrenheit scale, use comparison symbols (<, >, and =), identify horizontal, vertical, and oblique line segments, and find perimeter.
Reading: My reading class will be reading a realistic fiction story called, The Stories Julian Tells. We will also learn how to sequence events in a story, how to follow directions, about multiple meaning words and, to identify the prefix and root of a word.
Science: We will continue to learn about the rain forest. We will focus on the products that we get from the rain forest.
Social Studies: We will learn to read and make a diagram.

Please feel free to e-mail me at bcalcott@orionschools.us if you have any questions or concerns. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!